Some Marin residents who bike to work have a longer ride than others

THREE DAYS A week, Steven Plunkett rides his bike from his home in San Rafael's Gerstle Park to his job as an environmental compliance inspector. But, while plenty of Marin residents bike-commute to jobs within Marin or to San Francisco, Plunkett's ride is a bit longer: He commutes 38 miles to the East Bay, where he works for the county of Alameda.

"If I'm going to talk the talk, I need to walk the walk," said Plunkett, 52, whose partner is Kim Baenisch, director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition.

Plunkett is among hundreds of riders who will participate Thursday in Bike to Work Day, when people are encouraged to commute by two wheels instead of four. The event — which comes a day after Bike to School Day on Wednesday — features 17 "energizer stations" in Marin County with free snacks and drinks.

Last year, some 4,000 cyclists visited the energizer stations, said Peggy Day, the coalition's program coordinator. There was also a reported 20 percent increase in bicycle traffic on Bike to Work Day last year, she said.

"Anybody can do it," said Plunkett of biking, even if it's just once a week or once a month. For him, though, getting to work by bike is a complicated exercise.

If Plunkett bike-commutes both ways — riding into San Francisco, catching BART across the bay to the Fruitvale station in Oakland and then biking to his Alameda office — the round-trip takes four hours, he said.

Instead, he often catches the Larkspur ferry and BART one direction and then bikes home, but "it gets to be really long regardless," he said. Depending on his route, it's either a 31-mile ride plus seven miles on BART, or a 10-mile ride plus ferry and BART.

When Plunkett first moved to Marin 20 years ago from Mammoth Lakes his first thought was to drive to a different job in Oakland at the time. But he became discouraged by his lack of activity.

He said he also felt the need to do his part for the environment and get out of his car when he could.

Baenisch, who also bikes to work — though her ride is from San Rafael to Fairfax — said Plunkett's commute comes with some challenges, but when he gets home from work "after a glorious bike ride from San Francisco, or even just through the Cal Park tunnel from the Larkspur ferry, he is glowing with satisfaction."

Lloyd Tepper, 58, of San Rafael started commuting by bike to the financial district in San Francisco for some of the same reasons.

Tepper used to go on a mountain-bike ride before work, shower, and then drive to his office, where he works as CFO for Otsuka America, a multinational pharmaceutical corporation. But riding to work instead is more efficient and "I just don't like to drive," Tepper said.

He leaves his house at 5:15 a.m., sometimes meeting up with a group of riders, and will get to the gym next to his office by 7 a.m., where he'll do a quick workout and shower.

Biking across the bridge, he said, is a great start to the day and beautiful. "The ride is epic," Tepper said.

Both Tepper and Plunkett say they have seen some crazy things on their rides, along with "all the normal things," Tepper said. Plunkett once saw a small aircraft crash into the marshes near Alameda.

They've both had rough rides, especially in bad weather, but that hasn't stopped them.

"I do whatever I can to make riding a part of my daily life," Tepper said.

 Bike to Work Day is Thursday. Energizer stations will be open from 6:30 to 9 a.m., with the Vista Point station at the Golden Gate Bridge opening at 5:30 a.m. A full list of stations and super stations in Marin can be found online at www.marinbike.org.